Leather-tempering box



P. V. cLAcK LEATHER TEMPERING BOX Nov. 12, 1929.

Filed Sept. 13

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Patente-cl Nov. l2, l929 e PRESLEY v,- CLACK, 'or KnoXvrLnE, TENNESSEE f LEArnEn-TEMPERING Y.1302;

Application ledvSepte'mber 13,` 1927. Serial No. 219,343, 'I

: e `This invention Vrela-tes to ,tempering device -While capable of general use is more partienlarly` adapted for tempering leather erv pie-cee thereof, and alsoV for tempering VH5 blanks afleather in the form-'of half or Whole soles. that/are employed in the making orre- IU-hlas heretefore been proposed to temper leather inthe-form of strips or out soles, by 10 dipping thes'aine'in Water, but this methodof tempering shoe Soles, has lcertain defects and Y disadvantagesfin that,l 0W/ingV to the various f thekneses f-.leather emrlyed in thawed@ the matter olitemperingg; ftheV same by vdipping 1,5 the leather in ,Water resnlts,on .the onev hand, in annneven temperingof the leather and, on

the other hand, inthe production of Awhat is Water hard? leather caused by' overfsaturation and.har(leningl of the leather,

,` 210 especially when the same is not used immedifately after tempering. In .the case of Water hard'leathenrthe same becomes lbrittle and 1i[IivmrkableY and; eannot be4 retempered With leut .the expenditiireiof voonsiderable time.

l Consequently, when Water hard leather isvv used inthe making orjrepairing of shoes,

vthe result'fis an Iinferior product by reason of Y the fact that thekfibers otthe leather break so ,thatthelengtli of the life of the shoe is mate- `30 rially deoreaed., Where shoes are repaired with Water hard leather, sneh-` leather cannot be conformed to the inner sole 'of the shoe, but' on thefontrary theY inner sole has to be .drawn 'down' to the ;Water hard7 ,leatherl {viththe Afreshlt l'thatv'fth'e upper` ot the Vshoe is pulled out of shape and produces discomfort 11o-the ,wearenp n Y ,l

,l OILl .object .of the present inventl/on'ls to previdera box or container wherein the 'pieces $0 leather maybe placed in., proximity to a lQCly of liquid,'sothaty the leather pieces Will be evenly tempredthronghout; Another Qbjiectof the invention isto provide; ashore sole` tempering box, with a'rack ,-45 .or .Suppert :that holds, the' soles or b lanksfot1 leather; Qn ede@ 'I-l Poxmtv' t0 each Other,

:sothat/moisturemay pass through and be-y tween' the soles or yblanks to thoroughly and `evenly temper the same.-

L, A nrtherobject ofthe invention V1s toy pro- In @rilento mre Clearly widerstand the invention, reference may belhad tothe acoorn'f ,QQ panying cra'wings W'hichshotv ene embodiment uof the inventive. idea and wherein; f

Fig; l is a vien7 in: perspectiveoa boniem';

gif l boclying the invention,

' Fig-2 is a cross Sectionionthe line 'of ,Fie-liant ,Fie-'3 iS e Perspective vefwiof .the Tacker tray for supportinglthe leather strips.

Referring tol the dratvl Us, wherein reference characters designate-like parts, `7,5 thronghont the several views,- 5 indicates a box or eontainer, ,preferably` madeV of sheet metal orthe like, and havingsidewalls-6,5, end Walls 7,7 and a top 9L. The box is divided into two compartments l0 and'l'l, by a parttion 8 that is secured to the side and end Walls of the boX in any siii'tabfle manner sothat the compartment 11 ifs approximately one-third the size of the compartment. 1109" The oompartinent l1 is adapted to receive afheating'eg y,

un it 12here shown as an electrical heater, provided Withcennectingyplug '12', which is se-l curedto the Walls of' the box in a suitable manner. `A-,ilrl ventsforthe compartment 1ll may be provided in theside or-'end Walls 6.,,6 e0 and 7;, '7 respectively. Access tothe interior' of theficompartment L1' ornstell'ng. 0r spectin-g the heating unit. therein, is preferably had-'through nl @Perline 14, tome@ in Yone the end Walls of the boX and normally g5 `closed by a eover 15 that is hinged atll,y Y

bOdy `Of Weten Supplied therein, through@ pipev 417 vcomm1 inieatingf With` saidf` compart- `Vroo ment and having a cap or closure 18 threaded V therein to normally close the pipe to the blanks employed in the making of or repairn ing of shoes.

`tempering box. l

faces of the walls of the box and preferably located in the corners thereof, are brackets atmosphere. The body of water preferably has a height ofV approximately live inches, although it is to be expressly understood that the 'height of the water in the compartment 10 may be varied as-desired in accordance with the particularv conditions underl whichV the tempering is carried on and in accord-v ance with the particular construction of the Secured yon the inner sur- 19, 19 the upper or vsupporting surfaces of which are preferably located at a height of approximately one inch above theV level of the water in the box. These brackets are adapted Vto support rack or holder 2O for pieces of leatherfshoe sole blanks in the form of half or wholeV soles, or othertypes of The rack20 preferably has a `foramin'ous bottom'made of wires 21 and 22lthat are crossed over each other respec-` tively to form anv open mesh bottom for the rack which, when the rack is in .position onr the brackets 19, is disposed` at a height` of approximately one'inch above the level of Y j the ybody of water inthe box. The rack bot- Athese compartments, for example, may .be of vvarying dimensions' to accommodate pieces or blanksv of leather varying inl length with respect to each other. As herein'shown, the rack 20 `is divided into three compartments 25', 26 and 27 by a partition 28 that extends longitudinally of the rack intermediate the sidewalls thereof, and a partition 29V that extends at lright angles to the partition 28.

The compartments 26 and 27, clearly shown.

in the drawing, vary in size with respect to eachother and also with respect to the compartment 25. i v 1 In the use of the device strips'of leather or cut soles, .or the like, are placed on edge in the rack 20 so as to rest on thebottom 21, 22 thereof in asubstantially vertical position. When strips of leather are to be tempered, a plurality of the same are placed as 'describedfwith their faces opposing eachv other so that moisture from the body of water lin the box may` pass upwardly between the 'strips and thoroughly penetrate each strip supported edgewise on the bottom of the rack. When the cut soles (either halfror whole soles) yare to be tempered, lthey are likewise placed on edge on the bottom of the rack,

said soles preferably being arranged in pairs and being placed in the compartments of the rack according to the size of the soles that are Vto be tempered. f

In order to ysupport the strips of leather for the cut soles, on edge as above described, the top of the rack is provided'with holding wires 30 that extend in spaced relation across the top of the rack, and engage the opposite sides ofpacks of leathenstrips or cut soles, to hold the latter on edge as above described.

Therack20 is preferably provided with4 handles 31, 31 at the ends thereof, for conveniently placingthe rack in or removing the same from the tempering box. 4

In order to insure an eventemperature of the body of water in the box, an opening 32 is formed in one of the Walls of the box below the level of the body of water, through which Vopening water may pass into a cup v33 se-V cured on the outer surface ofthe box in any suitable manner. A thermometer 34- has a bulb 35 which is disposed within the-cup 33 to indicate vthe temperature of the water in the box, sov that the heating unitV may be controlled to maintainthe temperature of the Vbody of ywater approximately lconstant throughout the `tempering operation. This thermometerl is vpreferably secured to the box by a perforated guard 3 5 clamped or riveted to` the box or otherwise suitably Vfastened thereto, as desired. l

The top 9 of the box 'is preferably hinged'. theretoat 36, 36 and is provided with means* Y for Ventilatingv the box so asto insureag'ainst discoloration of the leather being tempered in the box. For this purpose,y uniformly distrib-A uted :Ventilating openings y37l are provided' in the top of the jboxv throughout the surface Y' thereofV so kthatdiscoloration-ofv the leather Vbeing tempered is absolutely prevented.

lVhile the distance betweenthe openings 37 may vary .in accordance with atmospheric conditions or other conditions "under whichv the tempering operation is carried on, I have Vfound by experiment that if the openings are Vformed throughout thek surface of the top of the boxV and vdisposed at approximately one inch from eachother that discoloration ofthe leather being tempered is absolutely prevent-Lv Operation-In the operation of the device,

the compartment 10 is filled with water to a height slightly below-the leather supporting rack 20. y I have found one inch below to be satisfactory. The strips of leather, cut soles, or the like, are then placed on edge onthe rack`20 and the cover 9 is closed'. I have found that with the height of the'l body of water being approximately five inches; with the level of the water one inch below the lowler edges of the strips of leather, or cut soles;

andwith the Ventilating openings' 37 spaced approximately one inch apart; that the leather can be tempered evenly in approximately twelve hours, with the temperature of the body of water maintained at substantially 7 8 or 7 9. If, on observation of the thermometer, the temperature of the water is below, say 79, the heater is turned on until the temperature of the water is brought up to the desired temperature and then turned off. By observing the thermometer and turning the heater on and off as necessary, the temperature of the body of water in the box may be maintained substantially constant with the result that the leather in the box will be tempered in approximately twelve hours. After the leather is tempered, the same may be used as desired from the box, and maintained in tempered condition while in the `box by maintaining the body of water at the temperature substantially as above indicated.

I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the exact details of construction and arrangement as herein described and illustrated, as itis manifest that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and the terms of the following claims,

hence I wish it to be understood that I reserve the right to make any such changes, Vor modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims when fairly construed.

Y What is claimed is: Y

l. In a leather-tempering box, the combination of a liquid-containing tank, a rack having a foraminous bottom supported above the surface of the liquid, said rack having means for holding leather strips in a substantially vertical position, means for regulating the temperature of the liquid in the tank, and ventilationg means'above the rack.

2. In a leather-tempering box, the combination of a liquid-containing tank, means for supplying liquid to the tank, means for withdrawing the liquid therefrom, means regulating the temperature of said liquid, means for supporting leather strips on edge above the liquid in the tank and in'open communication. therewith, and means for Ventilating the box above the rack.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

' PRESLEY V. CLACK. 

